That's Why I Love You
by GoodForBad
Summary: Semi-fluffy one-shot. Cindy finally realizes what it is she feels towards our favorite genius. Based off of "I Love You" by Avril Lavigne.


**A/N: Hey guys! This is actually pretty mushy for something **_**I **_**would write, but once I heard the song, I instantly pictured the two of them. They're supposed to be in high school, but you know I like to keep the actual time vague. ;) Some of the lyrics I decided to leave out because they didn't really fit. And just so I don't forget this time…I don't own Jimmy Neutron! This is just for some fangirl fun. **

Cindy sat cross-legged on her bed, scribbling contentedly in her journal. A quiet song vibrated in her throat as she hummed softly to herself, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. A gentle breeze drifted through her open window and the faint smell of spring tinged the air. She inhaled lightly and took a quick glance at her bedside clock. It read nearly 5:00. _Time to go._ She set her journal carefully in the drawer in her mahogany nightstand and stood, taking her hair from her ponytail. It fell in waves around her shoulders and she finger-combed it, slipping on a pair of dark pink ballet flats that had seen better days. She exited her bedroom but returned a moment later and grabbed a jacket from the back of her door. In less than a minute's time, she was down the stairs and out the door.

The sight of the familiar house across the street formed an odd sensation in her heart...contentedness maybe? She wasn't sure, but every time she made her way over here, she felt an odd calmness wash over her. Perhaps it was less the house and more the person who lived in it.

Familiarized with the path, she cut around the back, towards the shed that looked so ordinary on the outside. She made her way towards the door and knocked lightly with her knuckle. A voice came out of nowhere. "_Hey._"

"Hey yourself," she smirked. "Let me in."

_"All this time and you still haven't learned any manners..."_

"Says the boy who makes his girlfriend wait outside in the cold." She faked a shiver and looked directly into the hidden camera, whose location she had discovered long ago. "I thought you said you wanted to show me something?"

"_I do,_" he said with a laugh and she heard an odd sound like glass shards falling to the floor. _"But I can't rightly do that if you stand out there all day._"

"But the door -" She cut herself off as she touched it and found it unlocked. She hid a grin with a scowl. "You are such a jerk."

_"Takes one to know one._" She made a show of rolling her eyes and entered, shutting the door securely behind her. Jimmy had long ago decided to let her in "the normal way" and she didn't miss the harsh ride down or the sore rear end one bit. The entrance process was a bit unorthodox, but for someone like Jimmy Neutron, this was as close to normal as it was going to get.

Upon finally entering his lab, she didn't see him immediately. It seemed darker than usual down here and she squinted, trying to make out his form. "Jimmy?"

"Over here," his voice sounded closer than expected and she jumped, turning to her right and finding him down on his knees, back facing her. She made her way over, arms crossed.

"That's quite a creepy way to greet me," she said with a teasing tone, and then he turned and smiled at her.

_I like your smile_

_I like your vibe_

_I like your style_

_But that's not why I love you. _

"Sorry," he said, standing and he ran a hand through his hair. "I was hoping to finish this up before you got here."

"What is it?" she asked, bending down to get a closer look. From this view, it looked something like a rocket ship for one with turbines attached to the back.

"Just an energy converter," he said with a wave of his hand. "It's still in the preliminary design planning process. I'm trying to find a way to create clean fuel out of -"

"Garbage?" she said with a smirk and he scoffed.

"No! More like...waste products." She laughed and he bent down next to her. "Here, let me show you. Essentially, unused biodegradable products go in here and..." She didn't usually find herself tuning out when he was explaining something to her, but this time she couldn't concentrate...and it was because of _him. _His face was smudged with oil and grease and his hair kept flopping sloppily into his face. He had to keep shoving it back with one hand while pointing something out on his machine with the other. His eyes were shining with excitement and his smile was nothing short of infectious. He grabbed her hand suddenly and pressed it against the...engine? He was obviously asking her a question while she nodded numbly, never taking her eyes off of him.

_And I, I like the way_

_You're such a star. _

_But that's not why I love you. _

He was still in the midst of his long-winded explanation when he suddenly seemed to realize she wasn't paying attention to his words. He looked at her then, and the look on her face was something akin to adoration, or maybe extreme boredom. He couldn't tell. Despite his usual focus and concentration and above-par vocabulary, the only thing he could think of to say was, "What?"

_Hey, do you feel, do you feel me? _

_Do you feel what I feel too?_

_Do you need, do you need me?_

_Do you need me?_

"I just..." Her face broke into a grin and she hid her face with her hand, the other still held firmly in his own.

"What?" he prodded, watching her body shake with giggles. "Do you think it won't work? My design has greatly improved since grade school, and -"

"Wow Neutron, are you that dense?" He stopped and stared at her, and something in her glowing eyes made his heart skip a few beats. Her face softened then and she shrugged, her lips curled into a small, girlish smile. "You just...amaze me."

_You're so beautiful._

_But that's not why I love you._

_I'm not sure you know…_

_That the reason I love you..._

__"Amaze you?" He said the words slowly and his eyes searched the floor, suddenly bashful. "I...well, I don't...know why..."

"I know," she said, scooting closer to him. "That's part of the reason why you are." She cupped his face in her hands and let his incredible sapphire eyes, so bright and beautiful, search her face.  
"That makes no sense," he protested, always unable to take a compliment. His voice had dropped to a hushed whisper and she lowered her own accordingly to match his own.

"Then I guess I need to explain it to the genius," she murmured softly, pushing that stubborn hair from his face.  
_...is you...being you...just you._

_Yeah, the reason I love you_

_is all that we've been through. _

_And that's why I love you.  
_"It's not just your intelligence, Jimmy," she continued, slowly removing her hands from his face. "It's also what you do with it. The way you just want to make things _better_. For other people. You...you don't even think twice about it, it's just totally the way you _are._"

He shrugged. "I was given this gift for a reason. I'm just trying to put it to good use."

"Also the way you treat me," she said, ignoring him. "I've given you such crap over the years. Yet you never really hated me, did you? Put up with me yes, tried to prove me wrong on more than one occasion, yes...but at the same time, you were always willing to rush to my aid. Like when my parents divorced...I acted like such a witch to you. Yet you kept coming around and you let me break down around you and cry and..." Her voice trailed off, the memories from middle school swirling in her brain like film without sound.  
_And how you keep your cool_

_When I am complicated_

_But that's not why I love you_

"And your loyalty to the people you love," she swallowed the lump in her throat as he twirled a piece of her hair around his finger. "Your parents. Your friends. Even Goddard."

"And you," he suddenly cut in and she laughed, rolling her eyes. "No, I'm serious. Cindy..."

_Hey, do you feel, do you feel me?_

_Do you feel what I feel too?_

_Do you need, do you need me?_

_Do you need me?_

"I just don't think I tell you enough," she whispered and cast her eyes down, not wishing the conversation to shift to her. "You never cease to amaze me, Jimmy. You always have. You probably always will. You...you are truly one of a kind."  
_You're so beautiful_

_But that's not why I love you_

_I'm not sure you know_

_That the reason I love you...  
..is you. Being you. Just you. _

_Yeah, the reason I love you,_

_,is all that we've been through._

_And that's why I love you.  
_"Coming from the most astonishing, incredible, and gorgeous girl I know, that is quite the compliment," he murmured and she shoved him playfully.

"I'm being _serious,_ Jimmy."

"So am I."

"Just know," she said softly, seeing that their semi-serious conversation was coming to a rapid close, "that I meant what I said. And that...I'm always here for you. Always."

"Hey Cindy." He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek and she shivered, but it was very real this time. He crept forward and placed his lips teasingly close to her ear and she leaned into him, taking in his warmth and his beauty. "I love you." Those words. So rarely spoken, and even more rarely meant. Yet somehow, whether it was the fact that it was coming from him, or his closeness, or the sincerity in the way his breath caught when he said it, she knew he meant it. Completely.

"What a coincidence," she breathed into his hair and inhaled his scent. "I love you too." He started laughing, then leaned back and before she knew it, he had pulled her into his lap and his tight, loving embrace.

"I love you," he said again, and it was at that moment he realized how much he felt it. "I love you...I...love...you..." He placed small, teasing kisses all over her head, forehead, cheeks, nose, and jaw. She in turn wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled into him, murmuring her own declarations of love into his chest. He eventually placed a warm hand on her cheek and made her look at him, searching her face like he'd never need to look anywhere else.

"You are beautiful, Jimmy Neutron," she smiled and right before he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers, he whispered,

"Not compared to you, Vortex."

_That's why I love you. _

**Review, if you desire. **


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